McCain for President or How Obama doesn’t get it

Not wanting to be forgotten as he heads off to Hawaii for vacation, Sen Obama wanted to leave a message for voters that would remind them what his candidacy is all about. In response to a 7 year old girls question on why he was running for President, Sen Obama answered:

Perhaps this was just another slip of the tongue, another gaffe as it is called in politics. But Obama has a history with this kind of rhetoric. At a 2004 book signing he said:

“The Basic Outline of the government we possess and our civic religion as a people is such that potentially at least, we could create a society that is a model for the world, it isn’t right now.”

Of course Sen Obama doesn’t have to waste a vacation day responding to what will be a firestorm on talk shows and the fair and balanced media. He has already given his answer to questions about all of this when he said:

“This is the moment that the world is waiting for,” I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions.”Barack Obama

Setting aside his wife’s “really proud” comment, Rev Wright’s “God Damn America” and other comments, and Rev Pflager’s racist comments about America, Sen Obama’s own words are indicative of how he sees the country and it’s future. I think the real question here is-would you tell your young children the same things? Would you tell impressionable young minds that the country they live in is devoid of possibilities and its leaders lack the moral compass to lead? Or to put it in the language of a 7 year old-America is no good.

Of course Americans have been trying to form a more perfect union for well over 200 years. There have been missteps along the way and there will be in the future but through it all America has always been a symbol of what can be if individuals are willing to set aside differences, racial, religious and otherwise, and work for a more perfect union.

Immigrants used to come to our shores with dreams of streets lined with gold. Upon arriving they realized that the gold wasn’t a tangible piece of wealth but rather opportunity to pursue their dreams and better themselves in ways no other country could provide. Irish, German,Chinese,Mexican and any number of other cultures have become part of the American culture because of the dreams of immigrants. They still come to our shores, in record numbers, seeking those streets and finding more opportunity than ever before.

In contrast, the people of China are experiencing unheard of growth in their country but they can only pursue as much happiness as the government allows. Protesters are routinely being drug off the streets in Beijing. Internet access is limited to government approved sites for citizens and visitors alike. Religious freedom is almost unheard of in China as persecutions and executions take place throughout Tibet just because of a person’s beliefs. And while the wealth in China grows, only a small percentage of people have access to it because of government controls. No one is busting through the borders of China to seek opportunity.

What WAS America to Sen Obama before he started running for President? He must have an answer if he told a 7 year old girl that it is no longer what it once was. Since Sen Obama was born he has never known depression on a national scale. He has never suffered institutionalized racism. He went to college, taught at Harvard and was elected to state and national government. He is the first black man to ever be the nominee of a major party and ran against a woman who would have been the first female nominee of a major party. Unemployment in Obama’s lifetime has dropped steadily, with occasional spikes, to record low levels. There have never been the diversity of opportunities in education than exist right now with charter schools and cyber schools growing every year. Since Sen Obama was born the stock market has grown to unthinkable levels, creating more opportunities for Americans than were ever possible before and more wealth for more people than ever before. And finally America has won the Cold War and sent its military around the globe to protect and defend the people of countless counties from injustices simply because it was the right thing to do.

History, both America’s and Sen Obama’s own, has shown that America has been the shining city that Ronald Reagan envisioned. A place of opportunity and freedom unparalleled in the course of human history. Yet Sen Obama told a 7 year old girl that America is not a place he wants his daughters to grow up in. So much for the audacity of hope!

According to the Washington Post, Sen Obama has done it again. In another closed door meeting, this one with House Democrats, Obama said “I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions,” or as loyalists spun it Obama said “It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign — that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It’s about America. I have just become a symbol.” Despite, or because of?, the arrogance of either statement, Democrats, their strategists and supporters have labeled the reporting of it “politics as usual” and are trying to paint anyone who talks about it as a tool for Conservative talkers.

The “politics as usual” stamp has become a staple of the Obama campaign in this election cycle. After his first closed door gaffe when he said that rural Americans were “bitter” and they clung to their guns and bibles, Sen Obama and his campaign quickly tried to distance themselves by saying he was misquoted and it was “politics as ususal”. Any mention of Sen Obama’s short record, his votes or any public quotes is labeled “politics as usual”. Using his middle name, talking about his wife’s “proud” comment or anything she says on the campaign trail, mentioning his race or creed even in mundane terms, citing his relationships with Rev Wright, William Ayers and Tony Rezko among others is racist, pointless, a defamation of character and “politics as usual”. Pointing out that Obama called Ludacris a “great talent” while showing the video of Luda’s new song about Hilary’s female dog like attributes, wishing for McCain to be paralyzed and painting the White House black, is just “politics as usual” and not a fair representation of Obama, the man. So the question now has to become, what is not “politics as usual”?

If issues are the only thing on the table, according to Sen Obama, then comments he makes about issues are also on the table. When he called offshore drilling a “scheme”, that comment speaks volumes about his energy policy. When he refuses to acknowledge that the surge has and is working in Iraq and instead says that he would still vote against it with 20/20 hindsight, his policy on Iraq comes into question. And when he calls on the black community to own up to responsibility in society and family life, or when he states incorrectly that more blacks are in prison than in college, his policies on social issues become fair game. Finally, when the Senator takes a trip abroad and publicly meets with heads of state, his actions and words can not be sealed away for use only as the Obama campaign sees fit.

Sen Obama is correct in saying that he has become a symbol. In recent weeks he has become a symbol of how not to be a candidate for President. Obama has had more “Dewey defeats Truman” moments in the last few weeks than perhaps any other candidate in history. Using the “polics as usual” stamp is convienent for Sen Obama’s campaign and he will continue to use it as long as he can in order to avoid discussions on the issues and policies he lacks understanding on, namely all of them.

The denouncement of Rev Wright by Sen Obama is too little too late. Obama has had several chances to distance himself from the Reverend and refused to do so despite having heard statements made by the pastor of his church.

Sen Obama has been steadfast in defending Rev Wright for several months now. When this controversy first surfaced over a year ago no one paid attention and Obama was released from criticism by the media. Now Rev Wright in trying to defend himself and in turn attacked Obama saying that he is just a “politician”. Despite the truth to these words, or perhaps because of them, Obama now has tried to distance himself from the good sheperd. It wasn’t the attack on Americans being the cause of 9/11. It wasn’t the racial rhetoric that the Reverend preached. Obama even defended Rev Wright in his “Race” speech in Philly saying he was a crazy uncle. To Obama the worst thing Rev Wright could have said was that he, Sen Obama, was a politician. This should give every voter a sense of Sen Obama more than his own stump speech rhetoric.

Sen Obama hates the truth and the truth is that he is just another politician!

While Sen Obama is defending his pastor and talking about “a typical white person”(yes he did say it) and Sen Clinton is stuck in a room laughing hysterically over her rival’s implosion, Sen McCain has been touring overseas and acting Presidential.

While traveling with Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman this week, Sen McCain met with Gen Petraeus during his 8th trip to Iraq since 2003 and traveled Baghdad with Iraqi and American military personnel. Sen McCain then met with leaders in Israel, Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Britain and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. McCain’s trip was just another nail in the foreign policy coffin the Democrats are lying in as they attempt to win the White House and retain control of Congress this year.

As Senators Obama and Clinton continue to make speeches regarding foreign policy affairs, Sen McCain was being proactive in foreign affairs. The meetings he had with world leaders this week may amount to nothing, as he is not yet President. However, only Sen McCain can reach out to these leaders before he is President because of his experience with world leaders over 20 years in Congress. The meetings may also prove to be valuable tools as he addresses voter concerns over the war and other issues around the world.

Sen Obama has made 3 trips overseas since being elected. His foreign policy experience is essentially nonexistent. Sen Clinton, while having relationships with world leaders and their wives, has continued to focus on poll numbers to shape her foreign policy initiatives. Both say they want to lead the US and reshape American foreign policy if they elected President. Both fail to show their commitment to America’s standing around the world by neglecting the realities of current events, especially in Iraq.

The current sate of the race for 08 has Sen Obama debating race issues. A debate he started and is having trouble arguing. It has Sen Clinton saying what she needs to say to win the nomination of her party, a mathematical improbability at this point. And the race for 08 has Sen McCain practicing what he preaches both in Congress and on the campaign trail, reaching out to other leaders to ensure the safety and continued prosperity of America. In other words, the work of a President.